


My Girl

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: Second Chances [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 02:50:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7490343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin discovers Regina has a "hidden talent" when he hears her singing to Hope.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Girl

It’s the middle of the night when Regina lifts the red-faced, fussy infant from her bassinet and cradles her in the crook her arm. She smiles wistfully despite the fact that it’s well past three in the morning and she’s barely slept since Hope came home a week ago.

“You won’t outlast me,” she says gently, in a near whisper, as she stares down into the girl’s crystal blue, teary eyes. “Really,” she insists. “Your brother cried constantly. I’m really good at this game, so you might as well just give up now.” But Hope is relentless and her face scrunches as her muffled whimpers turn to an all-out cry.

Regina sighs, as she sways back and forth, rocking the baby in her arms. “I should have known you wouldn’t give in that easily,” she tells her with a soft, tired smile. “It’s not in your genes.”

Regina closes her eyes and the baby up against her chest, rubbing circles against her back. She remembers those first weeks with Henry—his restlessness, the constant crying, her insecurities creeping up with every moment when she couldn’t soothe him until she finally…

A smile creeps up on her lips and she moves to the rocker, again shifting the screaming baby back into the crook of her arm. She settles herself, stroking two fingers over the wispy red hair atop the girl’s head, remembering the first time this trick worked on Henry.

She clears her throat and takes a breath, slowly exhaling as she decides…

“I’ve got sunshine,” she begins, her voice a little shaky—she doesn’t remember the last time she sang. “On a cloudy day. When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May. I guess you’d say, what can make me feel this way?”

She smiles down at her daughter, whose looking up at her with wide, teary eyes. “My girl…my girl…my girl…talkin’ about my girl…my girl…”

Down the hall, Robin’s eyes flutter.

“I’ve got so much honey, the bees envy me…”

A smile creeps up on his lips as he opens his eyes, turning his head toward the baby monitor—it’s Regina’s voice, but it’s…different. She’s singing, he realizes as he slips back into full consciousness. He’s never heard her sing.

“…I’ve got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees. Well, I guess you’d say, what can make me feel this way? It’s my girl, my girl, my girl…talkin’ about my girl…my girl…”

Climbing out of bed, he moves down the hallway to the nursery and leans against the door frame. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light, but nonetheless, he smiles at the sight of her holding the baby—their daughter—in her arms as she sings to her. He’s completely transfixed, completely amazed by her voice—she has a way of doing that, of taking him by surprise at the most unexpected moments. His smile deepens.

Regina looks down at the baby in her arms, her screams have turned back to whimpers and she’s looking up curiously, listening to the new, soft melodious voice of her mother. “…I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day with my girl. I’ve even got the month of May with my girl. Talkin’ about, talkin’ about, talkin’ about my girl…oh, my girl…my girl…”

Her voice trails off and she watches as Hope’s eyelids begin to weigh heavily. Her cries have drifted further and further apart, but she’s still awake; so Regina picks up the song’s opening lines again, singing it all the way through a second, then third time and by the time she reaches the end of the third round, Hope is asleep. She exhales, hoping the quiet lasts for more than a few minutes.

“I never knew you could sing.”

Regina jumps a little, looking up to see Robin in the doorway. Her cheeks flush. “H-how long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to know that you have an absolutely beautiful voice.”

“I don’t know about that…” she scoffs. Looking up at him she shakes her head, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I’m glad I woke up,” he tells her. “That was such a sweet moment to witness.”

Her cheeks flush again as she slowly rises from the chair, moving carefully as she places Hope back into her bassinet. She hovers for a moment, holding her breath as she waits to see if the little girl wakes. And when she doesn’t, she smiles glad—and more than a little relieved— to have been able to soothe her back to sleep.

“How long have you been up with her?” He asks, stepping in and standing close behind her.

“About an hour…I think,” she shakes her head, laughing a little. “I’m so tired, I lost track.”

He sighs, settling his hands at her waist and hugging loosely from behind, “You should have had me get up instead.”

She leans back into him, “You’ve been up with her most of the week and you were sound asleep…and…I…wanted to make sure that I could comfort her.” She grins down at the sleeping baby. “This time around the learning curve was much shorter.”

Robin hugs her closer and she closes her eyes, enjoying his hold. Slowly, she pulls back and turns in his arms. Leaning up on her toes, she pecks his lips. “Come on, let’s go back to bed,” she tells him, offering a coy grin. “And I’ll show you another one of my hidden talents.”

His eyebrow arches as she leads him from the nursery. “Oh?” He asks, “And what’s that?”

Looking back at him, she catches her bottom lip in her teeth, letting his mind wander over the possibilities for just a moment longer. She takes a step back toward him, pressing herself close. “I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat,” she whispers. Laughing softly, she kisses his cheek, then pulls back, taking his hands in hers as she leads him back to bed.


End file.
